LONDON: Harry Kane stepped out onto the Wembley turf to become England’s most-capped men’s player on Thursday, the 33-year-old captain marking his milestone 126th appearance in a Nations League match against Croatia.
The Bayern Munich forward was handed a commemorative token by former goalkeeper Peter Shilton, the previous record holder since 1989 when he surpassed Bobby Moore’s 108 caps.
Kane — the only player featured on the cover of the matchday program and greeted with a huge roar by the crowd — showed off the Ballon d’Or trophy he won last month before being given a shirt with “126” on the back by the Prince of Wales.
Croatia captain Luka Modric, who played with Kane at Tottenham Hotspur from 2009-12, presented his friend with a replica of the first football brought to his country by English industrialists in 1880.
The only other recipient of a similar gift was the late Pope Francis at a private audience in 2024.
Scorer of a record 91 goals for England, 38 more than Wayne Rooney, Kane was described by England manager Thomas Tuchel as the “perfect captain and a leader by example.”
Only a handful of active men’s internationals have made more appearances for their countries than Kane, whose debut came as a substitute against Lithuania in 2015 when he scored 79 seconds after…
